PESHAWAR, Nov 7: Efforts by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to persuade the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) to join the NWFP cabinet in an attempt to counter alleged moves to topple the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government have failed, according to sources.

Maulana Rehman formally invited the PML-N to join the provincial cabinet during a meeting with the party’s general secretary Saranjam Khan on Thursday.

According to the sources, the JUI-F leader could not win a nod from Mr Khan due mainly to the PML-N’s reservations about the MMA’s policies on certain issues and differences within the league, which has five members in the provincial assembly.

Sources said that though the PML-N assured the MMA government of its  support in the provincial assembly, it did not agree to joining the cabinet.

The failure of the JUI-F chief appears to be a serious blow to the provincial government after an attempt by Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed to woo the disgruntled elements of the JUI (Sami) failed last week.

Sources said that though an understanding was there on the part of the MMA’s major parties to fulfil the JUI-S demand for representation in the cabinet, Mr Ahmed’s talks with the provincial chief of the JUI-S, Qazi Abdul Lateef, in Dera Ismail Khan, remained unsuccessful. The JUI-S has decided to boycott the provincial government.

The JUI-S and other smaller parties of the MMA  had developed differences with the provincial government dominated by the JUI-F and the JI over non-allocation of slots in the provincial cabinet and sufficient development funds to their members of the NWFP Assembly.

Significance is being attached to the attempts to restore the confidence of smaller MMA groups and win the PML-N’s support in view of an imminent threat to Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani’s government.

The meeting between Maulana Rehman and the PML-N leader was part of a series of contacts between the two sides in recent months.

MMA circles said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had played an active role in making his parliamentary group support the MMA government after getting certain assurances from Maulana Rehman over the Legal Framework Order issue.

The MMA could not get unconditional support from the PML-N as its parliamentary leader Anwar Kamal Khan from Lakki Marwat refused to cooperate with the government, sources said.

They said the PML-N had assured the MMA that its members in the provincial assembly would not support a no-confidence motion tabled against the chief minister. “In such a situation, Anwar Kamal might be an exception, as he is not likely to adhere to the party’s line of action,” said sources.